My husband and I celebrated our ten-year wedding anniversary (11/11/11) on Veterans Day (he’s also a Vet), and we spent the weekend in our nation’s capital to celebrate over some rest and relaxation. It was exactly what we needed. My husband works hard to provide for our family (he likes to joke that he has to work even harder because of how much we give away), my to-do and project lists have been busier than usual, and the demands of living in this world have fatigued us. We parent a soon-to-be five-year-old and a soon-to-be eleven-year-old dog (that my husband says I treat like a child), so we really needed this 48 hours off the grid (no pun intended).
I love how the Lord’s blessings are varied and everywhere. Whatever the occasion, good or bad, if we we’re willing to stop and see, we’ll notice that His hand is on whatever we are doing. His little surprises are sprinkled all over the mundane and the special.
Even though we were there to rest and enjoy ourselves, the Lord still had us on His little “assignments,” as my mentor likes to refer to them. Assignments enable us to bless others and be blessed in the process. The Lord uses many of us this way. They can be something as simple as offering (or receiving) a word of encouragement, knowledge or wisdom to another person, sparing the homeless person a few bucks, or praying for someone along the way (usually a stranger). Or, having a “divine” encounter that you know only comes from the Lord. And, witnessing and feeling gratitude for how the Lord blesses someone else’s life. The list goes on. Assignments from the Lord, big or small, are truly blessings.
We stayed at the swankiest hotel I’ve ever seen and I was overwhelmed by its magnitude and luxuriousness. I have no shame in my game to admit that I was all about the physical frills that it afforded. Sometimes, the Lord just wants us to kick back and indulge. Ten years of marriage is something to celebrate, especially for a gal who, for the longest time, never wanted to marry. What great things the Lord has done in my heart over the years by giving me the desires of His!
We met and conversed with a few patrons at the hotel’s lounge on Friday evening. They were board members and potential donors who were in town for a special event at the Museum of the Bible. It was nice to see a major hotel chain offer special accommodations to people who were there to serve the Lord in some capacity. Many of them were of financial means but varied backgrounds. On Sunday morning, there was Christian programming airing on a couple of the big screens in the lounge. I did a double take because I couldn’t believe my eyes. What a refreshing sight to see!
I think those “little” things were God’s way of showing us some of the fruit in the life of the hotel owner. Despite this person’s obvious limitations and character flaws (last time I checked, we all have much of the same), God was still (and is still) able to do a work in him. If his time in the public eye did anything of real value, it brought him (through the plethora of pastoral counseling and guidance he received) closer to the Lord. And that’s a really great thing.
Our time at the Museum was well spent. My husband found a copy of the original German bible. I stood in awe of the original King James version. My favorite painting was of Daniel in the lions’ den with the harpist, which depicted and reinforced the importance of worship during warfare. As Christians, we get the benefit of resting in His worship whenever the enemy throws darts our way (I generally have Christian music playing in the background at home, but especially when I feel something “off” in the spiritual atmosphere). On our way out, we stopped at the souvenir shop to pick up a Noah’s Ark water bottle and stuffed donkey for our daughter, that she affectionately named “Dancey” when she greeted us, upon our return, with “Mommy and Daddy, where’s my surprise?” One of the store’s employees happened to share the store’s plan to the release the first children’s book, scheduled for later this month, and their search for children’s authors and books to feature. I knew there was a reason that the Holy Spirit whispered, more than once, “don’t forget to pack a couple copies of your book,” which, in the hustle of packing, I forgot to do. Fortunately, we live less than an hour from DC.
But the blessing that touched us the most this weekend, aside from getting a full two days of uninterrupted physical, emotional, and spiritual connection, was our time spent a fundraiser, hosted by a local chapter of the German society in Maryland. My husband bought tickets to the all-you-can-eat brat feast a couple of weeks ago, so we stopped there for a late lunch on Sunday. My husband was born and raised in Germany—you can take him out of Germany, but you can’t take the Germany out of him. He was in Heaven. We were the youngest folks there, but we enjoyed being in the presence of the senior community. We have much to learn from their wisdom and experience.
At our table, we enjoyed connecting with a couple who shared some of the spiritual struggle with their daughter. They were discouraged because she was once close to the Lord, but led off track after her postgraduate study. Now, she wants nothing to do with God and is raising her soon-to-be five-year-old with little Godly influence. The elderly couple expressed sadness because they want to see their granddaughter baptized. I compassionately reassured them of the hope we can place in His ways and timing. They are strong in their faith, thankfully, but the Lord reminded me to keep their daughter and granddaughter in prayer. And, to give them a copy of my children’s book to give their granddaughter. A copy of my book that wasn’t in my husband’s truck. Fortunately, we don’t live far from Baltimore.
His blessings abound in an assortment of ways, friends.
Thank you, God, for a most blessed weekend.
